here's abc's chris conley. >> reporter: after more than 60 years as an actress, timeless screen goddessry. her memoir "yesterday, today, tomorrow," chronicling her earliest days in italy amid poverty and war. painful even now to talk about. >> i went through a lot with my family, of course. >> acting was her refuge. her depth of feeling would win her an oscar for "two women." >> it's a book. it's a dream. it's a dream. >> reporter: she would bewitch her co-stars such as cary grant. italian carlo ponti would be the love of her life, a life-long marriage that would produce two sons. >> i always think about cary with great, great -- we became friends, sometimes even a little more. >> he asked you to marry him. >> there are moments in your life you have to decide. i wanted a family. i wanted children. i wanted to be in my country. >> reporter: in 1957, a hollywood party led to this infamous photo as she eyed the dangerously revealing neckline of jayne mansfield, a moment parodied by "modern family." >> she was very preoccupied because she was bending too much, and maybe something would have